LONG BEACH: Testimony being collected may be used in tribunals of regime officials.
03/27/2009
By Greg Mellen Staff Writer
Long Beach Press Telegram (California, USA)
LONG BEACH - Every night they come to her: the spirits of her family, slaughtered by the Khmer Rouge and asking for her help.
As Sath Um tells her story, she covers her eyes and ears, describing the visions and sounds of the souls of her husband, three children, parents and siblings. They are just a few of the estimated 2 million left dead during the reign of the Khmer Rouge government in Cambodia.
On Friday, Um said she was getting a chance to answer her family's pleas.
The Cambodian genocide survivor, the last in her family, was one of about 50 Cambodian elders who showed up at McBride Park for the chance to give testimony and information that is being collected and could be used as part of the official proceedings in the Khmer Rouge war tribunals in Cambodia. It will be delivered to the Victims' Unit of the Extraordinary Chambers to the Courts of Cambodia, which is overseeing the trials.
The participants at McBride Park, most of them members of the Asian Pacific Islanders Older Adult Task Force, are the first in the United States to provide such testimony.
"It's for (my family), to find justice for their souls," Um said of her reasons for attending.
Chanthan Pich, another participant, says she is one of only two survivors among a dozen in her family and knows many families with no one left to speak for them. That's why she is participating.
Um very nearly didn't survive the genocide. She was clubbed on the head, stripped and left for dead in one of the many killing fields strewn across the Cambodian countryside. Miraculously she survived, fled and eventually immigrated to the U.S.
Friday's testimony gathering was organized by the Applied Social Research Institute in Cambodia, which brought volunteers and translators to meet with elders to compile the stories and information.
Dr. Leakhena Nou, the founder of ASRIC, hopes to build on Friday's success and organize more such events. Her group is working with others to arrange similar efforts in other Cambodian-American communities, including Lowell, Mass.; Chicago; Portland, Ore.; and Virginia/Washington, D.C.
Before the written testimonies were gathered, a half-dozen or so survivors told their tales of survival.
For Aaron Va, who works with the Older Adults Task Force, hearing the testimonies was moving.
"Many of the programs we provide, the computer (training) and the dancing, they help on the outside," Va said. "But I feel there is something deep inside my people. And I think this brings out something deep."
All victims and relatives of victims of acts of genocide during the Khmer Rouge reign have the right to file complaints with the ECCC. However, to date only a few thousand have been filed in Cambodia, and almost none by international refugees.
The first tribunal in Cambodia is under way against Kaing Geuk Eav, also known as Duch, who allegedly oversaw mass torture and execution in prison camps, including the notorious Tuol Sleng, or S-21, camp.
Testimony in that trial is slated to begin Monday in Phnom Penh.
A second collective trial is to be held for alleged Khmer Rouge leaders Noun Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith. The court only takes complaints until 10 days before each trial. The second trial date has not been set.
It is unknown if there will be any more trials or defendants. For that reason, there is a sense of urgency to gather testimony, because this could be the last chance for it to be heard internationally.
People interested in testifying and groups with survivors who would like to become involved can contact ASRIC via e-mail at asric.apa@nyu.edu or by calling Nou at 562-985-7439.
On the Web
Those interested in following the proceedings at the Khmer Rouge tribunals have several online options to track the proceedings, which begin in Cambodia on Monday morning. (Note: Cambodia is 14 hours ahead of Long Beach. The 10 a.m. start time in Phnom Penh is 8 p.m. Sunday here.)
Two sites will have coverage are U.S.-developed www.CambodiaTribunal.org and the official courts Web site, www.eccc.gov.kh, which has information in English, Khmer and French.
The Cambodia Tribunal Monitor Web site, developed in Chicago, will contain tape-delayed video footage of the trials, news updates, official court documents and commentary from experts on the proceedings and current Cambodian politics, human rights and international law.
The ECCC site also has video and an array of court documents.
On Monday, the first of five named defendants, Kaing Geuk Eav, also known as Duch, is scheduled to face the court. Duch allegedly oversaw Khmer Rouge prison camps and torture centers, including the notorious Tuol Sleng, or S-21, in Phnom Penh.
During the Khmer Rouge rule, between April 17, 1975, and Jan. 6, 1979, it is estimated that upward of 2 million Cambodians were killed or died from starvation, overwork, disease and deprivation.
The United Nations-backed Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia is overseeing the proceedings.
The trial for the four remaining alleged senior Khmer Rouge officials has not yet been set and it is unknown whether more defendants will be named.
03/27/2009
By Greg Mellen Staff Writer
Long Beach Press Telegram (California, USA)
LONG BEACH - Every night they come to her: the spirits of her family, slaughtered by the Khmer Rouge and asking for her help.
As Sath Um tells her story, she covers her eyes and ears, describing the visions and sounds of the souls of her husband, three children, parents and siblings. They are just a few of the estimated 2 million left dead during the reign of the Khmer Rouge government in Cambodia.
On Friday, Um said she was getting a chance to answer her family's pleas.
The Cambodian genocide survivor, the last in her family, was one of about 50 Cambodian elders who showed up at McBride Park for the chance to give testimony and information that is being collected and could be used as part of the official proceedings in the Khmer Rouge war tribunals in Cambodia. It will be delivered to the Victims' Unit of the Extraordinary Chambers to the Courts of Cambodia, which is overseeing the trials.
The participants at McBride Park, most of them members of the Asian Pacific Islanders Older Adult Task Force, are the first in the United States to provide such testimony.
"It's for (my family), to find justice for their souls," Um said of her reasons for attending.
Chanthan Pich, another participant, says she is one of only two survivors among a dozen in her family and knows many families with no one left to speak for them. That's why she is participating.
Um very nearly didn't survive the genocide. She was clubbed on the head, stripped and left for dead in one of the many killing fields strewn across the Cambodian countryside. Miraculously she survived, fled and eventually immigrated to the U.S.
Friday's testimony gathering was organized by the Applied Social Research Institute in Cambodia, which brought volunteers and translators to meet with elders to compile the stories and information.
Dr. Leakhena Nou, the founder of ASRIC, hopes to build on Friday's success and organize more such events. Her group is working with others to arrange similar efforts in other Cambodian-American communities, including Lowell, Mass.; Chicago; Portland, Ore.; and Virginia/Washington, D.C.
Before the written testimonies were gathered, a half-dozen or so survivors told their tales of survival.
For Aaron Va, who works with the Older Adults Task Force, hearing the testimonies was moving.
"Many of the programs we provide, the computer (training) and the dancing, they help on the outside," Va said. "But I feel there is something deep inside my people. And I think this brings out something deep."
All victims and relatives of victims of acts of genocide during the Khmer Rouge reign have the right to file complaints with the ECCC. However, to date only a few thousand have been filed in Cambodia, and almost none by international refugees.
The first tribunal in Cambodia is under way against Kaing Geuk Eav, also known as Duch, who allegedly oversaw mass torture and execution in prison camps, including the notorious Tuol Sleng, or S-21, camp.
Testimony in that trial is slated to begin Monday in Phnom Penh.
A second collective trial is to be held for alleged Khmer Rouge leaders Noun Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary and Ieng Thirith. The court only takes complaints until 10 days before each trial. The second trial date has not been set.
It is unknown if there will be any more trials or defendants. For that reason, there is a sense of urgency to gather testimony, because this could be the last chance for it to be heard internationally.
People interested in testifying and groups with survivors who would like to become involved can contact ASRIC via e-mail at asric.apa@nyu.edu or by calling Nou at 562-985-7439.
On the Web
Those interested in following the proceedings at the Khmer Rouge tribunals have several online options to track the proceedings, which begin in Cambodia on Monday morning. (Note: Cambodia is 14 hours ahead of Long Beach. The 10 a.m. start time in Phnom Penh is 8 p.m. Sunday here.)
Two sites will have coverage are U.S.-developed www.CambodiaTribunal.org and the official courts Web site, www.eccc.gov.kh, which has information in English, Khmer and French.
The Cambodia Tribunal Monitor Web site, developed in Chicago, will contain tape-delayed video footage of the trials, news updates, official court documents and commentary from experts on the proceedings and current Cambodian politics, human rights and international law.
The ECCC site also has video and an array of court documents.
On Monday, the first of five named defendants, Kaing Geuk Eav, also known as Duch, is scheduled to face the court. Duch allegedly oversaw Khmer Rouge prison camps and torture centers, including the notorious Tuol Sleng, or S-21, in Phnom Penh.
During the Khmer Rouge rule, between April 17, 1975, and Jan. 6, 1979, it is estimated that upward of 2 million Cambodians were killed or died from starvation, overwork, disease and deprivation.
The United Nations-backed Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia is overseeing the proceedings.
The trial for the four remaining alleged senior Khmer Rouge officials has not yet been set and it is unknown whether more defendants will be named.
3 comments:
It's hard NOT to blame the government. The officials are supposed to be a role models for generations to come. But, what I see in Cambodian Society is self-indulgent, introvert, self-centered, EGOTISTICAL BEING, agnostic society, and PLAQUED BY ETERNAL CORRUPTIONs. We, Khmers, needed to take a step back & pause to contemplate! WHAT DOES EVERY KHMER CITIZENS WANT FROM THE REMAINING MOTHERLAND?
I was spared by the Khmer Rouge insurgents back during 1975; i'm 40 y.o. today and have been following the situations in Cambodia for years. Mr. Hun Sen and his Kleptocratic lineages have been popping up schools in honor of the Family's name. I asked, where is the honor in that when our government overlooked the condition in Cambodia. I can give you reasons to fill the NYC phone books 70*70*. But, for the sake of simplicity I just wanted to discuss the government self-centered/introverted/and arrogant attitudes toward the public in mismanagement or holding back the society from progessing, EDUCATION.
HAS THE KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA EVER SCRATCH THE HEAD & WONDER WHAT MAKE US STAGNANT IN A PERIOD OF HUNTING & GATHERING SOCIETY?
It's the lacked of education. I have brothers, cousins, and friends in Cambodia who are teachers. I asked them what are you teaching, "oh, this & that". And it's safe to say teachers in Cambodia are under-educated, lack of conscioustious, dis-unity, lack of optimistic,feeble will power, and fear of the repercussion if decided to stand up against administration. I have mentioned before when a teacher goes to get paid, a fraction of the monthly salary goes to the person in the payroll department.
What kinds of students do we want to produce in Khmer Society? Pause.
khmer voices and victim need to be heard about this horrible history.
American stated that they shald never forget 9/11.
Us khmer, We shald never forget the killing fields, the bad leaders, and those other countries involved.
Ah lmuth said;SAM DACH OEV
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=sihanouk&aq=f
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